Once upon a time - I was just a wee boy - a playground bully called me a bad name. It was a four-letter word. Let’s just say, he called me an e***.

I was taken aback. I told him that it made no sense. However, this had no effect. He simply repeated it again and again. Other children then followed his lead. They said it too. And I told them all: ‘This makes no sense’. But they just kept saying it.

The more I explained that it made no sense, the more everyone went on about it. At some point, the teachers got involved. They also explained that it made no sense. But this simply drew more attention to it.

The bully kept saying that I was an e***, and that everyone knew it, and others repeated this. They claimed that there was evidence to support the claim, and that anyone could check the evidence, though they didn’t have it handy. Occasionally, the bully was confronted directly. He was told ‘You’re a liar’, but he simply replied: ‘What about him, he’s an e***!’

That’s what happens in a playground. Children make things up to get attention. Others then follow the leader because they’re not yet able to think for themselves. Many don’t actually believe it but, to avoid the bully’s wrath, they go along with it. And the bully, when accused of lying or talking nonsense, simply denies it. He doubles down, to keep attention, because that’s what he wants. Attention is power.

That, of course, was a long time ago. I live in the world of adults now. Such childish tactics wouldn’t work with adults. They only work in a children’s playground, where getting attention is more important than having something meaningful to say.

It’s hard to believe that it worked back then. But it did. Everyone, even the adults who knew that it was nonsense, reacted to it. So, the bully got what he wanted.

I never found out what an e*** is. I’m not sure that anyone knew at the time. However, it taught me a lesson.

Nonsensical words, like magic spells, can have a real effect.